Stonewall
by Huginn
Summary: The wizarding world is heading for disaster, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are growing in power everyday and almost no where is safe... Yet Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world on numerous occasions, is worrying about getting his homework finished
1. Prologue

Chapter One: 

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of the characters belong to J.K. Rowling, 

Prologue

Harry Potter lay on his bed starring up at the ceiling, so far he had counted fifty four squares on the foul paper on the ceiling. It was not to get him to sleep, quite on the contrary, he was trying his hardest not to get to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he would see Cedric Diggory's lifeless eyes and Voldemort's snake-like features sneering at him. 

There was also the fear that if he did fall to sleep he might dream about what Voldemort was actually doing and he didn't want to see that, no matter what help it might be. He couldn't bring himself to do it and he cursed himself for it, he was no Gryffindor to be cowering away like this. 

There was a beep as the clock beside the bed turned to twelve; he was fifteen. "Harry Birthday, Harry," he said to himself.

Upon hearing a sound at the window he slipped out of bed and allowed Hedwig to enter, she had been gone for several days, no doubt getting his present from Hermione. She was followed by his best friend, Ron's owl, Pig. Harry managed to grab the little owl before he could wake the Dursleys and put his presents on the bed. He opened Ron's letter and read the following: 

__

Dear Harry, 

Dumbledore says you're not allowed to come and stay with us. Mum and Dad know why, but they aren't telling. I've sent you some of Fred and George's latest stuff and I hope the Muggles aren't getting you down. 

Ron. 

Harry opened the package Pig had brought him and pulled out a box of chocolates. There was a map on the inside of the lid, but they all appeared to have relatively mundane names, surely Fred and George weren't going into the confectionery industry. He absently ran his fingers over the lid, touching the picture of a Walnut Whip, the carefully written script beneath rapidly changed into _Beetle Twirl_. Harry grinned and wondered when he might try these out on Dudley. 

Now he turned to Hermione's letter: 

__

Dear Harry, 

Viktor sent me a letter telling me he was on the Vratsa Vultures. Isn't that wonderful, of course that means he's going to be going on tour and I won't be able to stay with him for a few weeks. My mum and dad weren't too keen on that anyway though. 

I sent you a book on charms, since you were so very good with your Summoning charm last year. Do you think you'll be made a Prefect Harry? I've been reading up on how they're chosen and apparently it doesn't really matter if you break the rules as long as you have good grades. 

There is a girl and a boy Prefect for every year, in every House. Don't tell Ron, but I don't think he has good enough grades. Who do you think the other Houses will have as Prefects? I hope I get picked.

I hope you like your present. 

Love, Hermione. 

Harry smiled and pulled off the paper from his present from Hermione. Suddenly through his open window a owl fly and landed haughtily on his bed, giving him a sharp look. He promptly removed the letters and package from the owl's foot and it shot off out of the window. 

The package was from Sirius and he had sent him a brief letter telling him that if he wanted anything he only need ask. His present was a rather nice watch, it's face was quite odd though, there were planets spinning around the centre and three hands were jumping between them randomly. There was little note enclosed with it telling him that it was an astronomy watch and would be the only thing Harry ever used astronomy and divination for after he left school. 

As he starred at the face it did begin to make sense to him. He wasn't entirely sure how it made sense, but he knew that it was ten past twelve and twenty six seconds – twenty seven. He slipped the watch into his pocket and turned to the letter that was from Hogwarts and it was in Dumbledore's handwriting. 

__

Dear Harry, 

Due to the events of last year I am afraid that you may not go to stay with the Weasley family. Voldemort's activity is constantly on the rise and he does seem intent on killing you. I have therefore had to arrange some special measures that will keep you safe from him. 

I understand that this will upset you deeply, but you are not safe at Hogwarts and therefore you shall not be attending this year. Instead it is being arranged for you to attend a different school. This year you will be attending Stonewall High. 

Harry stopped reading the letter and starred in mute shock at the wall for a few moments. Did Dumbledore think he was insane too? Had the Ministry got to him? This couldn't be real, he couldn't be going to Stonewall High, he didn't even know any of the Muggle subjects! He continued reading, hoping to get to the part that told him this was all some joke. 

__

A letter will be sent to your Aunt and Uncle to inform them of this change in your education. Rest assured Harry this is only a temporary measure until I can insure your safety at Hogwarts. 

I wish you well in the following year, 

Professor Albus Dumbledore. 

Harry dropped the letter and sat down heavily on his bed. This couldn't be happening, how was he going to do this for God's sake? This had to be some kind of joke, Malfoy's doing perhaps or even Voldemort's. How could he stay at Privet Drive for longer than the summer? How was he going to do the school work? 

He hit the pillows and lay awake thinking of the mundane question of how on earth he was going to get his homework done.

A/N: This is meant to be short, the next chapters will be longer. In the next chapter we'll be jumping to late August/early September, just to get past all of the dull stuff. Reviews will be gratefully received, thank-you. 


	2. The Similarity Ends

To the reviewers: First of all thank-you very much for reviewing my story, I wish you well for it, but to the questions

Chapter One: The Similarity Ends

Harry sat on his bed frantically flipping through a chemistry text-book. A great pile of books had amassed on his bed, both those that were required and he had borrowed from Dudley and those that Hermione had suggested. 

You could gather an interesting picture of someone from the scrawls and doodles in their text books. Harry could tell from Dudley's for instance, that Piers Polkiss liked some girl called Amanda who must be one of the teacher's daughters because Dudley's school was all boys, Dudley couldn't spell and his handwriting was appalling.

Harry groaned, rubbing his eyes under his glasses and wished for a perfect memory, he had read through all of the text-books, lying awake at night. What little time he hadn't spent reading he had written letter after letter to his friends. Ron had told him that there was nothing he could do and Mrs. Weasley given him the longest lecture imaginable when she had discovered that he, Fred and George were planning to rescue him for the Muggles. 

Hermione had been more helpful, but not when it came to an escape. She had sent him some of her parents' books and offered to help him with any of his homework. It was a considerably relief to Harry that Hermione would help him, but then she would be studying for her O.W.L.s too and Harry would feel terrible if he cost Hermione her usual, perfect marks. 

The thought of the O.W.L.s gave Harry even more worries. If he attended Stonewall, and after writing to his godfather, Dumbledore and Mr. & Mrs. Weasley it seemed to be the case, he was going to be missing his O.W.L.s. Even if he did get back to Hogwarts in time to take his exams he wasn't going to know any of the subjects! 

"You're not going to know anything when you get to Stonewall," sneered Dudley from the door. 

Dudley had become much more confidant when he had found out Harry was being sent to Stonewall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were under the impression that Harry had been expelled for Hogwarts, they were torn between the desire to get rid of him and the sadist pleasure of keeping Harry away from the magical world. 

"My godfather is going to be worried about me, Dudley," said Harry, who was tired and angry. "He might come to see me, you know."

Dudley thought about this and wisely left the doorway, even if it did take his several minutes, crinkling his chubby brow. Harry turned back to his stack of books and there was a tap at the window, he looked up and saw a very annoyed owl at the window. 

He slid off his bed and let the owl in. The bird stayed long enough for Harry to take his letter and glare at him disapprovingly before flapping out of the window. The handwriting told Harry that it was a letter from his godfather and he eagerly tore it open. 

_Dear Harry, _

_Dumbledore told me you were going to have to stay with the Muggles for the rest of the year. I wasn't too happy about it, but there are things happening in the Wizarding World that you just shouldn't get involved in. _

_I know you may think that you would be safer at Hogwarts, but Voldemort's support is growing every day, it's not safe for anyone in the wizarding world, let alone you. _

_Dumbledore is working on some better protective measures that ought to keep you safe though. You should be back at Hogwarts pretty soon, if not you're coming with me anyway. I'm not going to leave you with the damn Muggles for long, Lily and James would never forgive me if they knew I'd left their son for longer than I had to with a load of magic hating Muggles. _

_Be there soon, _

_Sirius. _

Harry sighed and rested his head back against the wall. At least Sirius would be here soon, he had no idea when of course. He turned back to his books and resigned for the rest of the day to study, at least he might know a little something of the work when he got there. 

*****

Sirius paced up and down in Remus Lupin's kitchen, muttering under his breath. Remus was eventually forced to look up from the paper and watch his friend walk to and fro. After a while he put the _Daily Prophet _down completely. 

"If you are going to pace up and down my kitchen all day Sirius you are going to pay for the tiles to be replaced," he told his friend. 

Sirius looked up and threw himself down at the table opposite Remus. "Can you believe Dumbledore actually did that?"

"I admit making Harry stay with the Muggles isn't a good idea," said Remus. "But Dumbledore isn't doing this just to torture Harry, Sirius, he's doing it for a reason. Voldemort won't be wasting any time building up a network of spies in the magical community… Dumbledore knows what he's doing and as much as I hate to sight this precedent, he wanted _you _as Lily and James' secret-keeper and he was right."

Sirius growled and thumped the table. "I know," he muttered and then his head jerked up. "Maybe Lex could help."

Remus laughed, "She let you stay with her in Africa, but she's not going to do anything more, Sirius – strictly no participation, remember?"

"Yes, but she might if it was for Harry," offered Sirius. 

Remus shook his head, "We have parted company, Sirius. She isn't going to help us, or Harry. Even Dumbledore couldn't get her to do anything when he tried this summer. She's just going to sit in her house in Africa and watch the grass grow."

"Violence and blood," growled Sirius. 

"I didn't think she was into that any more," said Remus, with a raised eyebrow. 

"She's not – but if we could get the old fires blazing –"

"Then she would be just like she was before," cut in Remus. "Then we'd have you two at each other's throats and no James to calm her down. It would be pointless… And Lex without the fire, just isn't our Lex, we lose either way. It's better just to leave her be."

Sirius hung his head, "What am I going to do, Remus? Lily and James are dead, Lex has lost the fire and Harry's being forced to live with Muggles… What the hell am I meant to do?"

Remus felt the hurt and distress in his friend's voice and sighed. He had had time and he had never been one prone to violent outbursts of emotion, but Sirius was and the fact that he felt as though it was his fault made it all the worse. 

"What did you get Harry for his birthday," offered Remus in search of a new subject. 

Sirius raised his head slightly, "An astronomy watch – like Lily used to have… Remember? She said she's taken Divination and Astronomy so she might as well put them to use…."

"I remember," said Remus sadly. "Think Harry will understand in record time?"

"Probably – did you hear about the Summoning charm he cast last year?" asked Sirius, perking up now he could talk about Harry. 

"I certainly did," said Remus with a smile. "You wrote to me at least a dozen times about it as I recall."

"I'm proud of him," said Sirius, defensively. "He did really well last year, not just for a fourteen year-old, but amazingly well for anyone."

"Good because the boy deserves to have someone who's proud of him," said Remus. "So I would suggest you allow yourself to be proud of how Harry is going to be dealing with the situation he has been put in now…"

"I'm not leaving him there," said Sirius firmly. 

Remus nodded, "I understand – just remember that taking him away from there might not be what's best… He's safer there, Sirius, he might not like it, but he is."

Sirius slumped back into his chair. "I hate it when you're right," he grumbled. 

"Sorry, when am I not right?"

"Exactly!" 

*****

"You can't be serious, Albus," said Minerva McGonagall. 

"Indeed I can, Minerva," said Professor Dumbledore solemnly. 

"But he can't miss out on his work," she said. "And those Muggle are awful people, I've heard Harry telling the Weasley boy about them. If they think they can treat Harry how they want to again it will be dreadful for him."

"I appreciate your sentiments," said Professor Dumbledore putting his finger-tips together. "But what am I to do?"

"You could let him come to Hogwarts, Albus," said McGonagall. 

"And have both him and his friends in danger – no, not after last year, Minerva… Cedric was killed just because he was the boy next to Harry, imagine what Voldemort might do to his friends after that?"

"Yes, Albus, but the _Muggles_," sighed McGonagall, putting a clenched fist down on the desk. "Do you seriously think they will be able to protect Harry from You-Know-Who?"

"Harry has protection there," said Dumbledore firmly. 

"Albus you talk about protection for Harry, but what is there?"

"That is not for now, Minerva," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, I believe you have a lot of work for the new school year to prepare."

McGonagall set her jaw and nodded stiffly. She walked out of Dumbledore's office with an air of determination that heralded nothing good. Dumbledore sighed and walked to his window, looking out across the Forbidden Forest, Harry was certainly going to have a lot of trouble this year.

*****

At the gates of Hogwarts all was silent and it was even more quiet as a tabby cat with odd markings around it's eyes padded silently through the gates. It looked back at the castle and gave a little grumbling growl before going onwards down the street. 

*****

Harry stood leaning against the lamp-post as the rain fell down in great sheets. He adjusted the strap on his bag again and peered down the road to see if they bus was coming. A car swept past at high speed and drenched him with mud, but he was already dripping wet so it didn't really matter. 

He took off his glasses to clean them and distantly saw the blurry shape of the bus driving up the street. Quickly a slipped his glasses back on and leapt aboard the bus the moment the doors hissed open. 

The driver looked at him with contempt and Harry quickly fumbled with his change. "Under sixteen to Stonewall High," said Harry, locating a lint covered pound coin. 

He slipped it over to the driver and a bus ticket printed out for him. Harry pulled it off and went to find a seat. Harry sat down with a sigh of relief and put his bag beside him on the grubby seat, sticking his bus-ticket under the metal edge of the seat in front of him, like the dozens of people before. 

"You know they're still not giving change," said someone. 

Harry suddenly realised that the person was talking to him and he turned around to face a boy about his age, dressed in the dull grey uniform of thousands of high-schools through-out Britain. From the descriptions Harry had received while he had been at junior school determined that this boy was either abnormal or perhaps Stonewall's students weren't all like Crabbe and Goyle. 

"Hi, Knightly. Mor Knightly," he said, holding out a hand. 

Harry shook it, "Harry Potter, nice to meet you – er – Mor?"

"It's short for Moroni," said Mor, wincing. "Don't ask."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Harry slowly. "Are you going to Stonewall?"

"Yeah, why, you new?"

"Yeah," replied Harry. 

"How come? Just moved here or something?"

"No, I _used _to go to school up North though," said Harry. "But now I don't?"

Mor grinned, "Why? 'D get expelled or something?"

"No," said Harry. "I think they just wanted to get rid of me."

"Same thing here, mate," said the boy with a laugh. 

"Sorry?" asked Harry, who couldn't recall ever having met a pleasant Muggle and was fascinated by Mor.

"Everyone wants to get rid of me eventually," said Mor matter-of-factly. "It just happens. Hey we're here!"

Mor leapt to his feet, pressing his thumb into the bell until the driver leaned out of his cab and glared at them. Harry followed Mor out of the bus with the rest of the pupils, all dressed in grey uniforms. The wizard was then able to see Stonewall High for the first time and his impression of the building wasn't good. 

Hogwarts was a huge, rambling castle of towers and turrets and Stonewall was a huge rambling collection of blocks and extensions; there the similarity ended. While Hogwarts had an under-lying aura of solidity, as though the world could end and it would still be standing, Stonewall had nothing of the sort; Harry could see the boarded windows and the crumbling walls from where he was.

"Just wait," said Mor. "They want to install security cameras and metal detectors – it's not as though we're stupid enough to bring our knives and pipe-bombs into school though, I don't see what all the fuss is about."

Harry gave Mor a puzzled look before the boy headed off towards the school buildings. The two boys jogged to what looked like the reception and ducked under the shelter of the over-hanging roof. Harry pulled a scrunched-up letter out of his pocket and glanced through it. 

"See you later then," said Mor. 

"What?" asked Harry, looking up. 

"See you later," repeated Mor. "We're at reception, you've probably got to go in or something – talk to the headmaster and all that."

"That's what it says here," said Harry. 

"See y' then," said Mor.

Harry watched his fleeting acquaintance dash off back out into the rain and meet with a group of other boys. He turned back to the doors and pressed the button on the intercom. "Hi, I'm the new student, Harry Potter. I was told I had to meet the headmaster."

"Harry Potter? Wait a minute…" said a crackling voice on the other end and there was the sound of rustling papers. "Right got it," he heard someone say distantly. "You can come through now, Harry."

Harry heard the locks on the doors click back and he pushed them open. The entrance was far from the grand entrance hall he was used to; the floor covered in brown industrial carpet and the walls painted in a sickening shade of yellow. 

"Just through there, Harry," called one of the secretaries from their windowed booth. 

Harry turned to look a door across the room with it's door leaning up against the wall outside. He walked up to it and knocked on the door, that was next to the doorway. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, you'd be Harry, " said a plum looking man with a very tired air about him. "Come in then, lad."

Harry walked into the office and sat cautiously down in the plastic chair made for it's stacking abilities rather than comfort. The headmaster glanced through his the papers that were strewn over his desk and ran a hand through his thinning hair. 

"Right then, Harry, we've had a glowing report from your last headmaster, a Mr. Dumbledore, let's just hope you're just as good a student here at Stonewall," said the headmaster. "I am Mr. Griffith by the way. No point interrupting assembly in the middle, one of the secretaries will take you to your tutorial class."

"Thank-you, sir," said Harry, who was feeling rather guilty for adding to the poor man's problems. 

"Don't mention it, lad," said the headmaster and Harry got up and walked to the door before he spoke again. "And remember my door is always open, Harry."

Harry glanced at the door off it's hinges and nodded slowly, "Right, sir."

A/N: Did you like it? That by the way is my experience of school, as in English schools, and no my old headmaster did not have his door off his hinges. Before I am asked we will be seeing Mor again, I wouldn't name a character after a renaissance painter and then only have him in one chapter now would I. 


End file.
